1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to keyboards for electronic musical instruments, and more particularly to variable capacitors for such keyboards by which electrical signals are manifested in response to the amount of force with which keys are depressed.
2. The Prior Art
Numerous attempts to develop a keyboard for an electronic musical instrument have been made, with the provision of some means for differentiating between a strong and a light touch on the keyboard. For the most part these efforts have not been entirely satisfactory, however, either because of an inability to provide the correct feel for the operator or player of the keyboard or because the electrical signals which were produced were limited in their application. One example of the latter shortcoming is keyboards which produce signals in response to the amount of time required in the depression of the key from one point to another. While such keyboards produce signals which are proportional to the initial force, or velocity, with which the key is moved, they are not capable of providing a sustained electrical signal which continuously manifests the instantaneous force acting on an individual key.
Accordingly, it is desirable to produce a keyboard which is free of the limitations and drawbacks of the prior art.